Birthplace of the Prophet (s)
in Makkah, owned by Shaykh Abbas Kattan who built this library over the
location in order to preserve the foundations of the original house from
depredation of the Wahabis, who sought to eradicate this blessed location in
1951.

What you should
do:

Please download the petition forms available
at the following link in order to raise your voice in protest. You may use
email or fax to send your protest to the Saudi
Embassy in the US, addressed either to Prince Bandar or Adel al-Jubeir.

In his book Akhbar Makkah, Vol. 2, p.
160, the 3rd-century historian of Makkah, al-Azraqi, mentions as one of the
many places in Makkah in which the performance of salat is desirable
(mustahabb), the house where the Prophet was born (Mawlid
an-Nabi). According to him, the house had previously been turned into a
mosque by the mother of the caliphs Musa al-Hadi and Harun ar-Rashid.

The Qur'anic scholar al-Naqqash (266-351)
mentions the birthplace of the Prophet as a place where du`a by noon
on Mondays is answered. He is quoted in al-Fasi's Shifa' al-gharam
Vol. 1, p. 199, and others.

Earliest Mentions of the
Public Mawlid

The oldest source that mentions a public
commemoration of the Mawlid is in Ibn Jubayr's (540-614) Rihal
("Travels"), p. 114-115:

"This blessed place [the house of the
Prophet] is opened, and all men enter it to derive blessing from it (mutabarrikin
bihi), on every Monday of the month of Rabi` al-Awwal; for on that day
and in that month was born the Prophet."

The 7th-century historians Abul `Abbas al-`Azafi
and his son Abul Qasim al-`Azafi wrote in their unpublished Kitab ad-durr
al-munazzam:

"Pious pilgrims and prominent travellers
testified that, on the day of the mawlid in Makkah, no activities are
undertaken, and nothing is sold or bought, except by the people who are busy
visiting his noble birthplace, and rush to it. On this day the Ka`ba is
opened and visited."

Each year on the 12th of Rabi` al-Awwal,
after the salat al-Maghrib, the four qadis of Makkah
(representing the Four Schools) and large groups of people including the
fuqaha' (scholars) and fudala' (notables) of Makkah, shaykhs,
zawiya teachers and their students, ru'asa' (magistrates),
and muta`ammamin (scholars) leave the mosque and set out
collectively for a visit to the birthplace of the Prophet, shouting out
dhikr and tahlil (LA ILAHA ILLALLAH). The houses on the
route are illuminated with numerous lanterns and large candles, and a
great many people are out and about. They all wear special clothes and
they take their children with them. Having reached the birthplace, inside
a special sermon for the occasion of the birthday of the Prophet is
delivered, mentioning the miracles (karamat) that took place on
that occasion. Hereafter the du`a' for the Sultan (i.e. the
Caliph), the Emir of Makkah, and the Shafi`i qadi is performed and all
pray humbly. Shortly before the salat al-`Isha', the whole party
returns from the birthplace of the Prophet to the Great Mosque, which is
almost overcrowded, and all sit down in rows at the foot of the Maqam
Ibrahim. In the mosque, a preacher first mentions the tahmid (AL
HAMDULILLAH) and the tahlil, and once again the du`a'
for the Sultan, the Emir, and the Shafi`i qadi is performed. After this
the call for the Salat al-`Isha' is made. After the salat,
the crowd breaks up. A similar description is given by al-Diyarbakri (d.
960) in his Ta'rikh al-Khamis.